*the everything from scratch buggy- by voodoo*

[fabr]

Uh, negative.  None.  Look around for buggies with light bars and actuators.  That shit has a nasty habit of caving in a roof on a roll over.  That large piece of center steel comes on down into the cab. 

Dont get me wrong, they look cool as hell.  And it is sometimes handy at the dunes to be able to adjust the angle.  But, having seen the pictures, stick with something that breaks off or won't enter in a roll over.   

+1

[Voodoochikin04]

ok..... tell me to use two turnbuckles, or elec actuators... but then +1 on not using either....


carl...  yes, LH and RH heims.


so whats the point of a light bar? if its welded solid, with out any supports (since they could come into cab area in event of roll over) then it will just collapse in a roll over and bust all your lights..  isn't the point of it to keep the lights safe?

[Yummi]

Dig, hard to see from this picture, and I now have an LED bar under the HIDS, but, the light bar parallels the roof roll bar.  So, in a roll over, the lights will break off - I am cool with that.  Cheap as opposed to a piece of steel coming in the roof.

I will try to get better pictures tonight for you.   

[Voodoochikin04]

no i see what your saying...  i mean the kind like i built.. i see them on all kinds of buggys.. the ones that go up over the lights.. mine runs parallel with my front roof bar, the whole width of the buggy.. and then my adjusment bar is tied into the roof rail at the most braced point... 

all im asking, do most people that run "my" style of light bar, have it welded in solid? or bolted in non adjustable?

[fabr]

I said 2 because you had it built and 2 are better by far than the one when it comes to your lights vibrating around. Even yummi's design can have a hoop around/over the lights. Just remember that for anything there are alternative ways to do things. Each has its' pluses and minuses.

[Voodoochikin04]

so i guess if i want adjustablilty on the fly.. i gotta risk having the bar coming into the cab?  dumb.. lol. 

[nagel]

Interesting to learn here..

I always figured the actuator arm would bend before roll cage does, most of the actuators I've seen are 1/2" diameter push rod or smaller.  But I could see how a stronger center brace can penetrate the passenger area in a rollover, and I'd rather replace lights than my head.

Is there a way to make the mounts for the bar, well, "sacrificial"??  That way they bend / break before the light bar goes thru the roof?  Maybe make the mounting tabs from a slightly thinner material that gives way first?

Just thinking out loud...

[fabr]

The heims usually break and then the strut becomes a spear.The struts are the issue ,not the bar.

[nagel]

Ah hah! So here's the solution.  Use 3/8" or 1/2" plate for the roof! Armor protection! (j/k!)  (with that weight on the top, you would be begging for a rollover LOL).

Hmm, so what if he put two adjusters on the sides instead of one in the middle?

Is there any way to make a light bar safely adjustable then?  (My current buggy doesn't have one, but when I build a full size desert car I had plans to do something similar). 

[fabr]

using a small actuator or manual link would work on yummis design as well as any other design.I like yummis design and adding a hoop over the lights would delight me.

[nagel]

Ok, Yummi's design looks almost like a roof cargo rack, with rails along the sides as well as front.  Do you mean an actuator, say, at the rear of the "rack", that is mounted to a vertical roll bar pushing up / pulling down on the rear of the "rack"?  This would put the actuator behind you / to the side of you and raise / lower the rear of the "rack"..  The actuator would then essentially become the rear mounts for the rack?

[nagel]

Or...

What if you made the bar the lights mount to (on Yummi's rack) pivotable, essentially like a steering spindle.  Only a small arm mounted to control it just like tie rods connecting to a spindle.  The actuator wouldnt need to have a long throw either, depending on how big you make the "small arm".  This way in a rollover, there's no long spear...

[Voodoochikin04]

yea thats what i shoulda done..  welded the hoop solid to frame and made the light mounts pivotal..with small adjuster..

my current adjuster is the same as my frame tube..  i was figuring it would fold in half before the heims of tabs broke.. especially since its mount to a thick tube that braced in good on my roof...

ill run with it for now i guess..  figured i was finally making something right lol.

[fabr]

Ok, Yummi's design looks almost like a roof cargo rack, with rails along the sides as well as front.  Do you mean an actuator, say, at the rear of the "rack", that is mounted to a vertical roll bar pushing up / pulling down on the rear of the "rack"?  This would put the actuator behind you / to the side of you and raise / lower the rear of the "rack"..  The actuator would then essentially become the rear mounts for the rack?

yup

[Carlriddle]

Hopfully Voodo you've already done the roolover thing and you have learned your lesson and not repeat.    But could you shorten the adjuster part to where it was only like 6" or so then I dont think it would dart you.  So does this mean your going to make LS, or are ya still 50-50? 

Speakin of dart anyone see Yoshi's lawn dart at snake hunt.  He posted up some pics still waiting on video.  Not quit as bad as the Jackson.